Williamsburg First Night

We were looking for something fun to do to welcome in 2009. We had an extra long weekend, and initially thought of going somewhere warm. Instead, we wound up heading north to Eastern Virginia and Williams burg. As a child, I lived for a year near Roanoke, and had the opportunity to visit as a school trip, by my parents were unwilling to shell out the cash. I have been brooding ever since.

All was made well when we arrived on New Year's Eve. Through the magic of the Internet I had discovered Williams burg's First Night celebration. This comprised of a large array of activities taking place in various buildings on the campus of William and Mary, as well as Eastward into Williams burg. We had a schedule of what we wanted to do in hand, and set off, walking all over
the place to see what we could. Our very first stop was Bagels and Fraylox, a very good klezmer band. Klezmer is wonderful mostly upbeat Jewish music. I fell in love and bought a CD. We then went to the Matthew Whaley School, where we watched a juggling act, before heading over to the Williamsburg Library Auditorium to watch Suwabi African Dance. I love African dance because it is so energetically different from modern dance. Somewhere in there was also stopped by briefly to see Schnicklefritz and the Oompahs, where I learned I don't like that type of German music. Unfortunately, I still have the chicken dance stuck in my head, which they had also decided to play.
Here we paused for some food, pizza from some small corner shop I do not remember the name off. It was neat because it had dollar bills lacquered into the floor here and there, but the food was mediocre and left me hungry.

We continued out musical exploration by visiting the phenomenal Bobby Black Hat Blues Band, playing in the Kimball Theatre. I have never seen a man run about and be so energetic while playing the harmonica. And he did get down off the stage and run around the aisles. Accompanied by some swing dance students on stage, it was a high energy show and a lot of fun. From there we went on to see the far more subdued Rebbecca Davy, who performed on the Williamsburg Presbyterian Church's organ. Which was quit and interesting show. To top off our evening, before the Grand Finale, we headed over to see Williamsburg's Classic Swing Orchestra play, and to watch the dancers dance. I love watching people swing dance. I am especially fond of watching the older people do it, because they know just what they are doing, and can lead and improvise so well, even if they don't have the energy of their younger counterparts.

Finally, we headed to the Zable Stadium for the Grand Finale. It was very very cold, and after trying to stick it out, we left before midnight, but had a change of heart and returned in time to ring in the new year and watch the fireworks show.

It was a wonderful evening. What I find most amazing is that we didn't see half of the shows available. This is a great way to explore all the varieties of music of the world, and ring in the New Year in a family friendly way. I highly recommend it.

Charleston: a weekender's paradise

Charleston, like Savannah, is a charming southern coastal city. The historic downtown is picture perfect, with charming homes faced, not toward the roads, but rather towards their very own private side gardens. The porches, which face onto the gardens, are often blocked from view by a door and the end facing the street. Indeed, the most of the landscaping is hidden behind fences and gates. Beyond the cobbled streets lies the bay and the battery park. The seaward side of the battery is lined with cannon and palm trees. Behind these are well spaced live oaks, centered around gazebo like band stand. When we visited early one morning in April, the live oaks were saturated with robins. They fed on the berries of the palms and swarmed among the trees.

Away from the coast is the market building, long and low, it's purpose fairly obvious, even when it is closed. The most popular item for purchase here is the sweetgrass basket, or the cheaper palm leaf flowers. Beyond that, the flea market carries a wide variety of items from local made candies to cheap sunglasses. There are many shops in the area, which lean towards the artsy and eclectic.

Of the shore lies historic fort Sumter. This fort is where the first shots of the civil war were fired by the confederacy who overtook the fort from the North. Today, a ferry leaves from patriots point and escorted by seagulls takes you to the fort. .The ride provides good views of the Ravenel bridge and the Charleston bay Once within the fort's walls, you have the choice of personally exploring the fort, are following a guide as he points out interesting features, and answers questions. .One of the interesting features are the mortar shells wedged here and there in the walls of the fort. Why are they on the inside of the fort? They were fired from over the opposite wall, and dropped within the fort just in

time to blast into the base of the exterior wall from the inside Within the walls of the fort is a war memorial, flying flags of the state and the nation. Also within the walls is a later built artillery housing, painted a severe black. The interior has a small museum, and an original flag.

Patriots Point harbors, in addition to the tours of fort Sumter which leave from there, a world war II air craft carrier, submarine, and battleship, as well as housing a coast guard vessel, and a reconstructed Vietnam camp. The aircraft carrier, while still much smaller than the ones used today, was large. the ship makes good use of all its space though, with unique designs for everything from stairwells to sleeping areas. One of the most puzzling features of the ship were the many broken clam shells scattered across the deck. That was until 'splat' out of the sky dropped a fresh live clam, its shell breaking open to reveal the fleshy insides. The seagull responsible circled patiently, waiting for the tourist to clear the was so it could enjoy its meal. The submarine made even better use of the space, with Jake barely fitting through the small doorways that led from one area to the next.

Cathedral Cove

The town of Hahei, on the Coromandel Peninsula of New Zealand's North Island, has some spectacular beaches. From a parking lot near the sea, a trail leads down to several bays and coves. Along the way, the trail passes through flax and fern, and even a small corner of pasture. The ferns were so thick that some children were using them as very effective camouflage. We skipped a stop at Stingray Bay in favor of reaching Mare's Leg cove, and the Cathedral Cove beyond it. The two are connected by a cave, which was very prominently featured in the early part of the Narnia movie Prince Caspian. Both Beaches are absolutely beautiful. White sand, surrounded by high cliffs, and fronted by some of the bluest water I have seen, and this even on a somewhat overcast day. We stayed briefly to explore, then made our way back, this time taking a slightly different route that led us through some unexpectedly mossy and dark forest.

Blue waters from the trail


Fern tree forest


Children in the Ferns


A Spot of Sunshine


Cave connecting mare's leg and cathedral cove


A Mossy Route Through the Forest